Life. Yep.


Ah, navel-gazing. Something Your Loyal Trisec excels at from time to time.

I was musing today how rapidly things change, but this time it's for the better.

I have referenced that I'm no longer a youth-facing leader at my Scout Troop in Waltham. Well....I am again at Troop 711 (Buddha's Light) in Belmont.

I was teaching a First Aid class for them today, and I was approached by their Scoutmaster after the meeting, where she asked if I might be interested in mentoring and coaching two prospects through the Eagle Scout process.

I said yes almost immediately, and she took me to meet the Scouts I'd be working with.

Two charming young ladies, both about 16, with two years to go before time runs out. What great fun to be wanted and needed again.

I happened to run into Javier's Scoutmaster (retired) virtually, as he relocated to Virginia over a year ago. He was online in another room teaching a different merit badge, so we had a brief reunion and traded updates, which pleased me to no end.

After that, I decamped and headed for my hometown of Saugus, MA. We had an emergency meeting at our Masonic Lodge today. It should be a secret between the brothers and the columns, as we say....but since our audience is limited here, it's OK for me to tell you that today was to open negotiations to merge our Saugus Lodge with one of the many lodges that operate in Melrose, MA.

We'd retain our building in Saugus and meet there, merge the finances, the Brethren, and the Officer Line, and start operating under a new name. Perhaps a year or two from now if all goes well.

Which sets me up to the the VERY FIRST Master of this new Lodge.

Place in History secure.

But curiously enough - I was musing on the way home, to the point that I asked Allah..."Is this it? Is this what you had in mind?"

Remember, 12 years ago now, by rights I should not have survived my encounter with 'Big C'.

I always thought my future was within Scouting, that I somehow survived because I had more work to do.

In many ways, Freemasonry has saved me and brought me back to the light after my rather severe mental health crisis of May 2024.

Only time will tell.